In a free market, GMO labeling matters

“Where has the precautionary principle gone in this country? We live in a world where man made chemicals have come to pollute everything and everyone. Personally I have no fear of the GMO genes themselves, my digestive system will denature them. The concern we should all have is "Round Up Ready" GM crops. They soak in glyphosate from chemical weed control. Science has proven that glyphosate residue makes it all the way to the food we eat. Not to worry, a body of experts has already decided that the amount in the food is not enough to directly poison us! Glyphosate in Roundup is also an endocrine disruptor that is suspected of causing harm well below toxic levels. GMO labeling empowers people to make market choices that inform the producers that at least some of us do value the precautionary principle when it comes to our family's health.”

There is a warranted “fear of the dark” regarding GMOs being added to the food supply. We truly do not know what we do not know. At present there is no ability for the consumer to choose non-GMO, save eat organic always. The issue is not the genes themselves, they digest. The potent concerns are what do those genes produce? and what else do they do to those foods because they have been genetically modified?

We already have many GMOs that are “Round Up Ready”. This means the plants are dosed heavily with Roundup, and raised in soil that has been repeatedly treated with Roundup. With this practice there are environmental concerns as well as food safety issues for humans.

The following link summarizes the evidence for Roundup in our food as of 2005. Yes, Roundup makes it to the GMO food you eat. No, according to this panel of experts it doesn’t show up at known toxic levels. By inference we can be safe to assume that there is a toxic level, and that Roundup is yet another toxin adding to our personal toxic burdens.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0209e/a0209e0d.htm

Roundup interacts with our health in ways other than direct toxicity. It has also been shown to be an endocrine disruptor at levels we can acquire from GMO foods. Safety from this concern has not been proven, and what I believe is at root for why the Europeans are reluctant to give the Roundup Ready GMOs a free pass. Apparently they do still believe in the precautionary principle over there.

Roundup in food also interacts with us through our intestinal microbes. A healthy intestinal microflora protects us from disease, helps us digest our food, creates vitamins, and interacts with our hormonal control of sugar metabolism and appetite satiation. Roundup is now known to kill beneficial microbes upsetting the healthy balance in poultry, and is suspected to do so in cattle too. Why would we expect it to be different in humans?

I for one want everyone to have the opportunity to know when they are being presented GMO foods. There are reasons to be concerned, and the burden of proof of safety needs to shift back onto those who would rather we ignorantly eat GMOs and their intentional contaminants. The opponents to labeling don’t want us to be reminded that we should have a choice in the matter every time we make a purchase.

Very likely GMO labeling will disrupt the producer’s bottom lines and force them to change their practices. If belief in the hidden hand of the free market is more than rhetoric, then let it be so. Provide the truthful information on every label and let the market decide.